February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By John Manley
Darren Clarke settled for a second-place tie in the Trophee Lancome at Versailles, France, last weekend. He started the final round tied with eventual winner Retief Goosen, two shots behind third-round leader Alex Cejka. But Goosen went out and carded a 67, while Clarke came home in 68. The latter’s final score was 272 (67-70-67-68).
Paul McGinley’s 65 on Sunday lowered him to a joint 16th with five others. His number was 278 (71-71-71-65). Des Smyth was amid a pack of eight that occupied 38th place at 282 (70-72-70-70).
Euro Seniors
Eddie Polland shot a trio of 71s in the Tui Seniors Championship at the Fleesensee Golf and Country Club in Germany, which landed him in an eighth-place tie at 213. Liam Higgins was two shots back in 16th place at 215 (73-70-72), Raymond Kane shared 26th place at 217 (75-68-74), Joe McDermott finished 42nd at 221 (74-73-74), and Dr. Art Spring tied for 50th at 224 (73-72-79). The winner was Jeff Van Wagenen at 208.
Euro Challenge
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David Higgins finished a joint 10th in the Gula Sidorna Grand Prix in Sweden, and lost more than just a tournament. He also forfeited his perch atop the Tour’s Order of Merit to medalist Henrik Stenson. Higgins shot 285 (70-71-70-74), leaving him well back of Stenson, who now has three events left this year to fend off Higgins and claim the title for himself. Stenson leads Higgins, despite winning only two tournaments to the latter’s three victories.
Montgomery Tour
Sean Quinlivan tied for 21st place in the American Express Open at Inverrary West in Lauderhill, Fla. After opening with a three-under-par 68, Quinlivan scored consecutive 74s to finish at 216, 10 shots behind Dave Bishop and Jorge Benedetti. Bishop won a playoff. Quinlivan’s cut amounted to $875.